On the evening of May 10^, 2025, rock, soul and Americana, legends Little Feat, brought their jambalaya of country funk and rhythmic elegance to Ithaca’s State Theatre in celebration and support of their new album Strike Up the Band. The record is a return to past glories for the group who never left.

While time and death have taken its toll on the band’s line up over the years, Little Feat have been revitalized in current times through the membership of guitarist and singer Scott Sharrard and drummer Troy Leone. Both of whom pay tribute to the band’s deep legacy while also expressing their extraordinary originality, allowing the group to continue to create new and relevant music.

It would be remiss to refer to Little Feat as a legacy act. While other long time touring band’s (who shall remain nameless) rest on their laurels and cruise on past glories; Little Feat refuses to be complacent and continues to write, release, and play new songs. The band has endured, facing losses head on of their legendary leader Lowell George drummer Richie Hayward and in more recent times guitarist Paul Barrere.

Staying true to the founding members ‘original vision, Feat has retained their road-tested humor, shifty jamming, and rhythmic buoyance, all is centered around founding member, keyboardist and songwriter Bill Payne and long timers (1972) bassist Kenny Gradney and percussionist Sam Clayton. Rock and Roll guitarist and legend Fred Tackett has been around the band since its early days and became a critical full-time member in 1988.

The evening’s performance blurred the lines between the past and the present with the current Strike up the Band songs assimilating themselves into the rest of the well-known Little Feat canon seamlessly. In most cases the new compositions were indiscernible from the classics. A testament to the group’s continued creativity and awareness of who they are.

From the moment the band took to the State Theatre stage they emersed themselves in musical celebration brimming with attentive full band interplay.  

The show opened with the long-time standard “Fatman In the Bathtub,” which featured vocals by both Payne and Sharrard. The band pulled the plug during the middle section of the song for a newly formed and expansive series of jams the quickly washed any thoughts of living up to past glories down the drain.

“Easy to Slip,” was a welcome addition to the evening’s setlist and found its purchase in guitarist Scott Sharrard’s faithful reading. Bill Payne then received an early spotlight with a steamy version of “Oh Atlanta,” that was an early concert highlight.

A large version of “Spanish Moon,” rose confidently with a thumping urgency and unforgiving swing. Gradney and Sharrard, were both in fine fettle for this one. “Spanish Moon,” was bookended by two songs off the new record and the early triad featured intimate and focused playing. Strike Up the Band’s opener, “4 Days of Heaven, 3 Days of Work,” and “Too High to Cut My Hair,” were extraordinary. “4 Days,” contained a cinematic aural spread courtesy of Bill Payne, while Sharrard’s guitar work, in what would be a theme for the night was creative, melodic and well placed.

The latter track was influenced by guitarist Fred Tackett’s wife who while enjoying time in New Orleans was going to give Tackett’s hair a little trim up, which received the reply from Tackett, “Honey, you’re too high to cut my hair.” Immediately struck by this poetic phrase Tackett called Sharrard, and a new Little Feat cut was born.

The perfect Little Feat song, “Two High,” is hooked on the undulating churn of strummy Tackett and Sharrard guitars that lounge in the sweet smoke caused by the smoldering rhythm section of Clayton and Leone (star of the show). Containing some groovy humor the song burned to an incendiary peak that left behind only ashes.

A sweetly rendered tribute to Lowell George followed with “Long Distance Love,” which Sharrard made his own, and was followed by a funky and rare to me reading of “Down on the Farm.”

Another new song followed, with Sharrard’s, “Shipwrecks,” a fine original that highlighted an angular mid-song excursion that slammed against the rocks of the song’s shoreline, via Sharrard’s liquid riffing and Payne’s wash of specialized keyboard tones. A fascinating jam sequence that really took the song to a new place.

I noted a theme developing over the course of the show with the infusion of new songs perfectly balancing what could be a classic era heavy set. The wealth of collaboration on the new record has provided the group with a fresh basket of goods from which to pick from and share on the live stage.

A well placed “Time Loves a Hero,” was dedicated to bandmates past and was followed by a slinky “Old Folks Boogie, which had been requested from the crowd throughout the night.

A Robert Hunter, Bill Payne collaboration followed with the new and poignant “Bluegrass Pines” to which Payne introduced as one of 20 songs the legendary pair wrote together. Payne’s voice was strong and nimble and well supported by Tackett’s mandolin and Sharrard’s towering melodic expressions over a rhumba beat.

We were then treated to the welcome vocal stylings of Sam Clayton who took on the railroad rhythm of Howlin’ Wolf’s, “You’ll Be Mine,” which was played with such urgency that it threatened to rattle of the rails.

The lead single off Strike Up the Band, the jovial “Midnight Flight,” soared over the top of Cayuga’s waters with purpose and elicited an effortlessly breezy melody through its sunny groove and exclamative percussion parts. The crowd responded to the enthusiasm of the band with ass shaking and jubilant smiles.

Keeping the vibe high the band played a bottom-heavy version of The Band’s “Don’t Do It” via Marvin Gaye and dedicated to Levon Helm. What else can be said?

Everyone in the band got a chance to harvest a tomato and show off their stuff as the band blasted through a best of run that began with the slow sultry strut of “Sailing Shoes,” “Willin’,” “Dixie Chicken,” “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now,” and “Let It Roll.”

“Sailin’ Shoes,” was horned up by Tackett’s appearance on trombone and “Willin,” by Payne’s reflective playing throughout the verses. Stunning stuff.

Dixie Chicken allowed everyone to get a big solo spot including a well-deserved spotlight for Kenny Gradney whose rubber floor foundational bass lines keeps everyone on time and in the pocket.

Both “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now,” and “Let It Roll,” took us on a full sprint to the finish through collaborative handclapping and a full venue singalong. At the concerts’ conclusion we were left with those feelings that we all long for at the end of a good show; appreciativeness, awe, tiredness, and musical joy.

Little Feat hasn’t incurred a renaissance, as much as reaching a contemporary level of consistency and craft. They’ve always been here, it’s just that now the musical world has caught up and recognized what they have cooking. The new album is a launching point for another stellar era of Feat, and hopefully a sign of future things to come.